Chapter 14 Money and Food
It's just that this is too unfriendly to Zhu Xiongying.
First of all, Zhu Xiongying had already won the throne, but suddenly there was a twist. He Xi's words were clear and logical, but in fact, Zhu Xiongying was very doubtful about whether He Xi could do what he said.
Even if He Xi could do it, why would Zhu Xiongying take the risk just for the sake of reform?
This was what he couldn't understand the most.
Secondly, Zhu Xiongying felt threatened by He Xi.
Beijing and Liaodong are He Xi's basic bases. Although Zhu Xiongying has been winning over many people, it cannot be compared with He Xi's management in the two places in the past ten years. This is the case now. If He Xi conquers the world in the future, what will it be like?
Zhu Xiongying's emperor instinct felt deeply uneasy.
After all, Zhu Xiongying was also trained by Zhu Yuanzhang. He couldn't feel more comfortable. Didn't show any signs of it. He said, "Uncle, how can we correct these three shortcomings?"
He Xi said: "Do you still remember the bill system I drafted in Liaodong?"
Zhu Xiongying said: "Of course I remember."
He Xi said: "Based on this system, issue food stamps to lock in food prices and stabilize food prices. This time Shen Guogong took action, which also gave us the opportunity to collect at least several million taels of money from the Deng family. Moreover, I have formulated policies such as issuing national bonds and issuing excessive amounts of money to provide financial support of 100 million yuan during this year and next year. Of course. All this will take time."
Zhu Xiongying was shocked and said: "One hundred million yuan?"
He Xi said: "It's exactly 100 million yuan."
Fighting means fighting for money. How could He Xi be unprepared? In terms of money, He Xi was the most prepared.
It can even be said that everything He Xi did twenty-five years after Hongwu was to prepare for today.
First of all, the replacement of treasure banknotes with silver dollars has been completed. This gave He Xi an opportunity. In other words, the currency He Xi issued was not borne by Beijing alone, but by the entire Ming Dynasty and even Nanyang, and many places.
This kind of financial hegemony may not be understood by many people in this era.
Some people may think that once the war starts, will Nanjing still have economic and trade exchanges with Beijing, and will the currency still circulate?
The answer is yes.
Even war cannot stop the flow of money. Many people will even make more money.
Secondly, the industries in Beijing and Liaodong have also developed greatly.
Generally speaking, the industrial development in these two places is actually not as expected. Although the factory production system has spread. There are more than 2,000 large and small factories in Beijing and Liaodong. Otherwise, He Xi would not say that the tax revenue of the two places is 10 million yuan.
This is the sum of land tax, customs duty, salt tax, commercial tax and other aspects.
Roughly one-seventh of the Ming Dynasty court.
However, He Xi also clearly felt the lack of growth. On the one hand, it is due to market reasons. The industrial production capacity of Liaodong and Beijing can now satisfy the known world. Japan, Nanyang, Mobei, and other places. As for the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, it encountered a bottleneck.
Naturally, the obstacles of the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economic system and the privileges of scholar-bureaucrats made it difficult for products from Beijing and Liaodong to enter these rich lands. In particular, twenty-five years after Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang gradually delegated power to the cabinet. In order to stabilize the south, the cabinet headed by Fang Xiaoru implemented a series of policies to prevent northern goods from entering the south. Maintain the original production relations. Thereby stabilizing the situation.
Under this conservative policy, some hidden dangers in the South were suppressed, and there was even a sense of prosperity.
On the one hand, the entire Ming Dynasty itself was in a period of economic growth, and the trauma caused by the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty had not yet fully recovered. On the other hand, not all products will be boycotted. It was mainly cloth that was boycotted. Because there are too many implications behind it. The remaining cheap iron materials and the introduction of other machines made many industries in the south more prosperous.
However, this limits the upper limit of northern industrial production capacity.
However, within a few years, many business owners have made a lot of money.
What time will it be
The basis for issuing national bonds has been established.
In addition, He Xi is also preparing another move, which is to further retreat from the country and advance the people, liberalize the most important coal and iron industry, sell all the government-run coal and iron, and introduce a large amount of funds as military expenditure.
After all, on the one hand, the profits of coal and iron are already very thin. This thinness is also due to various reasons of government-run enterprises. When the government runs enterprises, they almost always turn them into yamen. He Xi wanted to know how state-owned enterprises were run in later generations.
Anyway, He Xi found that he couldn't stop this trend at all.
Over time, efficiency decreases and various problems occur frequently.
Business management and industrial management are also a subject. He Xi was just a college student before and didn't understand these things at all. He doesn't have time to study it. The best way is to just let go and let the market compete. It would be enough if the government strengthens supervision.
Moreover, it is impossible for all the money raised by He Xi, whether it is excessive currency, national debt, or other money, to be invested in military expenditures. Even if it is invested in military expenditure, it can stimulate the economy, which is the so-called war boom.
A large number of orders will feed the industry and commerce in Liaodong, Beijing.
If the war goes on smoothly. He Xi can maintain high military expenditures for a long time.
But the debt will be high in the future.
As long as you win, nothing is a problem.
This is also the confidence that He Xi defeated Nanjing. Under Fang Xiaoru's management, from the 25th year of Hongwu to the present, in the entire Ming Dynasty, except for some minor wars in the northwest, there has been almost no major consumption. Fang Xiaoru's financial policy is very conservative.
If you have money, save it.
The balance of the Ming Dynasty household department was more than 80 million yuan.
It can be said that there will be more than enough taxes in the Ming Dynasty.
The finances are particularly healthy, including the taxes paid by Beijing every year.
However, with the Ming Dynasty's system, it was impossible to maintain high military expenditures during wartime. A military expenditure of 100 million yuan would be good if it could be maintained for one year.
Zhu Xiongying said: "What about the food?"
He Xi said: "Strengthen overseas procurement. More importantly, issue agricultural loans."
Zhu Xiongying said: "Agricultural loan?"
He Xi said: "Set up a bank account for each farmer and issue a loan, which can be used directly to purchase new farm tools, including water turbines, steel farm tools, emergency trucks, livestock, etc. Let them repay the money with food."
Zhu Xiongying was not a fool. He asked a key question: "Can I get this loan back?"
He Xi said: "That's not important. What's important is food."
Not just food.
Twenty-five years after Hongwu, He Xi was preparing for today's events.
From the 25th year of Hongwu to the present, He Xi has been working hard to promote water conservancy projects in Hebei. Puzhou Society under Shen Guogong has become the largest construction company in Hebei. Mainly contracted water conservancy projects and completed many large projects. For example, repairing the Lugou River, building dams for many rivers, dredging rivers and so on.
Otherwise, how could Shen Guogong's net worth exceed 10 million yuan within a few years?
The effects of these water conservancy projects are far from immediate. But at least the number of disasters in Hebei has been greatly reduced. But the real production of food depends on the last bit of farmland water conservancy. But this step is difficult.
It would be a big problem if the court took control. Parents in rural areas are short-lived, which is too troublesome.
If we don't care and let the people do it themselves, it will take too long. Not that the people are not active in production. But farmers are naturally afraid of risks. Because it is simply impossible for ordinary people to bear a little risk. It seems that a little risk is enough to destroy people's lives.
He Xi lends money to the people and is already preparing to have a lot of bad debts.
But there is no problem. These loans first require the sale of agricultural tools, agricultural machinery, and livestock. It can even be said that these merchants are around when lending money. It is false to say that people have no freedom to control the loans. But most loans are already earmarked.
It is a great stimulus to industrial production.
From this point of view, the court has recovered some costs
. It can even be said that it does not matter if some agricultural loans are missed, but it will be a great benefit to agricultural production. Overall, there are many benefits.
Waste is wasted. Compared with the imperial court going to the countryside to build farmland and water conservancy from house to house. The cost is high, and He Xi doesn’t know. But He Xi knew that he couldn't do the latter. After all, there aren’t that many manpower.
